The present invention relates to the recovery of heavy hydrocarbons, hereinafter "oil", from an oil bearing formation wherein the oil is disposed in the formation with water. More specifically, the present invention induces vibrations in the oil bearing formation to reorganize the oil to allow improved rates of recovery.
Many water-flooded oil reservoirs exist throughout the world. Although these reservoirs contain oil, commonly the oil-water ratio of effluent recovered is so low that it makes recovery of the oil cost prohibitive. In these situations, recovery is discontinued even though a considerable quantity of oil may yet remain in the reservoir.